Wave energy converters (WECs) are devices that extract energy from waves in an open body of water (e.g., the ocean). Due to the immensity of oceans, continuous movements of waves therein, etc., the amount of energy corresponding to waves (a wave resource) is substantial. Further, the wave resource has a relatively high energy density (higher than either solar or wind). For instance, along the coastal territory of the United States, there are approximately 300 GW of potential power that can be extracted from waves. The wave energy resource, however, is spatially, temporally, and energetically variable. For example, energy within a particular region of a body of water is dependent upon a predominant frequency of waves, wave height, and width of the wave frequency spectrum.
Conventionally, WECs produce power over a relatively narrow band of the full wave frequency spectrum. With more particularity, a conventional WEC is configured to have a structural resonant frequency that desirably matches the dominant frequency of waves in a region where the WEC is to be deployed. Thus, when a wave impacts the WEC that causes the WEC to be on resonance, the WEC can operate efficiently, and can absorb a significant amount of energy from the wave. If the WEC is off resonance—e.g., waves impact the WEC that cause the WEC to be off resonance—the WEC operates much less efficiently.